“The biggest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us.” ~Dorothy Day, www.catholicworker.org

The Lotus Flower, Symbol of Spiritual Awakening

Dear President Obama, I am writing you because you are also the head of the Democratic Party and the DNC (the Democratic Nat’l Committee).

Please know that I am unabashedly mad-as-hell about the DNC’s bogus reports of the so-called ‘Super Delegates’ count that are heavily in favor of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Thus, making her opponent, Bernie Sanders, seem far more behind than he actually is! Sadly, this very bad information is constantly being recycled in the Media.

As we have been informed, these super delegate counts are actually promises (or personal endorsements perhaps) that are subject to change prior to the official nomination at the Democratic convention! Thus, in truth, these nonbinding Super Delegates counts are very misleading and therefore should not be published as actual votes!

Toxic Anger or Righteous Indignation

Needless to say, I am very, very angry about this bogus delegate count reported by the DNC, and demand its correction immediately.

But first, let’s be clear on the subject of toxic anger versus righteous indignation. Toxic anger often seeks revenge that can be very destructive; this is not the intent here. In sharp contrast, righteous anger is often a great motivator that generally seeks to right a terrible wrong, which is our intent here.

For me, righteous indignation is best illustrated by our elder brother Jesus when he got mad at the traders doing business within the church. With a mighty sweep of his hand, he overturned their tables and basically threw the traders, their money and their wares out of the temple. He then says:

“It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer; but you are making it a robbers’ den (Jesus the Christ, St. Matthew 21:12-13).”

Has Our Politics Become a ‘Robbers Den’ These Days?

Sadly, in many respects, seems today’s politics has become a gateway to gaining vast personal influence instead of significantly improving society as it was meant to be. Thus, our presidential elections seem more far desperate than ever, where civility and truthfulness has sometimes given over to intense duplicity, bullying, vulgarity and even violence … particularly at the recent rallies of some presidential candidates.

Yet, for many of us donating our little money to the Bernie Sanders campaign, that’s working hard to win this election and stop the further abuse of our economy, it often feels like our politics are indeed mired in a den of thieves. And so we remain more determined than ever to join with Sen. Sanders and help right this terrible wrong.

And we start by speaking the truth as we know it. In Phoenix Arizona on the second “Super Tuesday” of this primary season, Sen. Sanders tells us, his supporters, this:

Thankfully, the Media, with all of its human flaws, has actually done a good job in vetting our current candidates so far. Thus, we are now seeing the toxic candidate who resorts to bullying, racism, hate mongering and vulgarity when his inflated ego is threatened. We’ve seen the ambitious young candidate abandon the truth and flat-out tell lies about the other candidates or their surrogates. And we have seen the career politician, who’s made lots of powerful friends, pander to self-interest groups for a block of votes and such.

And, of course, we have seen evidence of the DNC’s misuse of the so-called delegate count which gives an impression of its favorite candidate being the presumptive primary winner.

Yet, the race to the White House continues and We-the-People must make the right decision as to whom we hire as our next U.S. President.

Whom Shall We Hire Indeed!

Though way too many of us, including some candidates and the media, tend to view the presidential race as a competitive sport rather than a life-altering decision we all must prayerfully make, still there exists today at least one among us who takes this calling very seriously. And has come forward without apologies, and is truly telling it like it is.

This, of course, is Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose working hard to awaken voters to the infinite wealth we all can share when We-the-People unite and save our democracy from the greed and corruption of the reckless millionaires and billionaires among us.

Actually, as I view it, there are two people, now considered the front-runners for our next U.S. President, who are very, very scary and clearly must not be hired.

For me, the legacy of the Bill Clinton presidency that virtually surrendered the keys to our economy in authorizing deregulation of Glass-Steagall (the 1930s Depression Era law meant to restrain investment banks), the 1994 Crime Bill that led to today’s mass incarceration of Black and Brown folks in particular and those nasty Trade Agreements (which Hillary allegedly touted) that led to loss of American jobs and devastated the Middle Class, Hillary’s dubious emails as Secretary of State, her lucrative Wall Street speeches, and her involvement in regime change in Libya and such, makes me very nervous about Hillary Clinton and exactly what she would “mistakenly” do as our president.

Thus, I have no confidence in the Hillary.

Though Hillary Clinton now says these powerful executive actions were mistakes, who in their right mind would hire anyone who has been the author of such catastrophic mistakes?

Next, in my opinion, Donald Trump, whose Goliath persona loves to taunt his adversaries, is way too aggressive and much too contrary for this job. As one known to overreact to the slightest perceived insult, he would never do as U. S. President. While he sometimes tells it like it is, which is good, the Donald’s toxic anger and schoolyard bullying would never be tolerated by the World Leaders who will match his inflated ego with an eye for an eye!

And the bloody war of the egos continues; only it’s our innocent children who will do the actual fighting and the dying. Hence, the meaning of this parable from Jesus, our beloved brother:

“And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (St. Matthew 19:24).

Yet, the good news is, one day we will find that better way and gladly change. Why not today?

Meanwhile, daily life and the 2016 presidential race continues.

Free the Mind! And may the Truth be with us as we cast that precious vote.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” ~ St. Paul, 2 Timothy 4:7 (ASV)

Recently, it was an honor to meet this great Civil Rights icon. From the moment it was announced that Rep Lewis was to be the keynote speaker at the 2014 Hall of Fame Dinner honoring Rep Ed Pastor who is retiring from congress, I began looking forward to meeting John Lewis, my civil rights hero and former congressman.

The irony is, for a split second, it seems, I was deliberately excluded from Rep Lewis’ reception by my old nemesis, the so-called devil. As the old-timers would say: Child, that ain’t nothing but the devil. Hence, this classic line from television comic Flip Wilson (c. 1970s): “The devil made me do it.” Though I was genuinely hurt, as I thought this person was a friend, of sorts, being a veteran Spiritual Warrior myself, I would not be deterred. Thankfully, my campaign colleague, who had been sent an invitation, was right behind me. Thus, the wily ego steps aside claiming it was kidding, which hardly felt that funny to me!

Embraced by History

Nonetheless, I gladly enter the room without further incident, blindly walking past free glasses of sparkling champagne, scrumptious deserts, and impressive VIP’s. My only purpose was to meet Rep Lewis in appreciation of his great service to civil rights. See, I also had a story to tell John Lewis and prayed that I would not cry in the process. Naturally, upon meeting him I felt like crying and said so. He embraces me and I immediately feel at ease.

With tears of reverence under control, I thanked Rep Lewis for his service and then told him about Bobo, my classmate at the time of his tragic death. He then mentions his recent visit to the site of the infamous Bryant’s Grocery, now a Historic Landmark on the Mississippi Freedom Trail, which made our meet all the more meaningful for me.

Emmett Louis Till

Sadly, as most well know, in the summer of 1955 while visiting relatives in Money Mississippi, Emmett Louis Till, we use to call him Bobo, a precocious 14-year old African American youth who, on a dare and being from Chicago, made the fatal mistake of playfully “whistling at a white woman” in the local grocery store. That fateful night, a few days later, he would be kidnapped from his uncle’s home, brutally tortured, ultimately murdered, his battered body weighted down and thrown in the Tallahatchie River by two white men, the women’s kin. Soon the horrific body would emerge and virtually shock the world.

At the persistence of Miss Mamie, Till’s mother, a Chicago schoolteacher who wanted “the world to see what they had done to my son,” an open-casket funeral was held which naturally awakened the universal consciousness within. Being our classmate, we got together and went to the wake. Mercifully, we girls were strongly advised not to view the body. Even grown men were stumbling out into the streets weeping, which were filled with grief-stricken Black folks as far as the eye could see. I would be haunted by this tragic event for years to come. Yet, little did I know then, that one day in meeting U.S. Congressman John Lewis, now a beloved Civil Rights Icon, I personally would receive a poetic justice for Bobo, my childhood classmate.

Though tried for Till’s murder, yet typical of the segregated South, the two men were acquitted by an all-white jury (yet later sold their murder confession to Look Magazine). Months later in December of 1955, while still remembering Till and his tragic death, Rosa Parks, an exhausted department store seamstress (also a trained NAACP non-violent activist) refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus, as then customary. Thus, formally kicking off the historic Montgomery Bus Boycotts and American Civil Rights Movement in which a very youthful John Lewis would ultimately play a crucial role.

Spiritual Warfare or Fighting The Good Fight

In my opinion, there are three legitimate levels of warfare in human affairs; each with its own distinct attributes. The first level being Physical Warfare: use of extreme force to restore the peace and preserve civilization. The next level being Intellectual Warfare: use of good words to point the mind toward truth and reconciliation. And the third level, which is Spiritual Warfare: the wise use of discernment that ultimately kills off the ego, a false self-image also known as false pride (or “the devil” in some cultures).

Hence, all truthseekers are destined to realize that it is the ego, a fear-based product of our own negative thinking that is the major cause of our problems. Having recognized the inner source of our troubles, “the good fight” begins and we become the proverbial Spiritual Warrior, fighting to uphold the truth. With truth comes wisdom, universal love, non-violence and unconditional happiness, which we willingly offer to all.

A recent example of a Spiritual Warrior in the political realm would be our own President Barack Obama, who moved mountains, it seems, to open the way for the LGBT community to live its truth or, as the beautiful transgender actress Laverne Cox recently said on national television (the View), “To live our T”.

Teaching Non-Violence in Our Public Schools, Our Greatest Hope

When asked to be taught wisdom (enlightenment), it has been said the Buddha replied that wisdom cannot be taught, but the way to wisdom can be taught!

Much in the same way, we cannot easily teach the power of universal love in a broken society. But we can pave the way through teaching non-violent principles for daily life in our public schools, which worked in the midst of chaos and violence in the past…and it will work again if we teach non-violence in our public schools.

Thus, teaching non-violence in our public schools is our greatest hope for a more perfect union. It is the way to jointly fight the good fight and rid our country of systemic racism. It is the way to world peace. It is the way. Think about it!